Over the past year, the movement to decriminalise prostitution in the UK has gained unprecedented traction. Led by the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), which describes itself as “a self-help organisation of sex workers”, the #MakeAllWomenSafe campaign expresses an urgent need for legal reform with regard to the current state of criminalisation, particularly in cases […]
OPINIONS By Laura Watson In 1980, the English Collective of Prostitutes wrote to Len Murray, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress in the UK, asking to affiliate as a union. Since we were founded in 1975, we had been defending women against criminalisation, workplace violence and exploitation, and providing other support – the kind of […]
‘It is terrifying that this is the police response to women’s situation. Women are out there because poverty has increased – particularly in that area. People are really struggling,’ says campaigner Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent @mayaoppenheim Police have been criticised for warning sex workers in Swansea that they could be prosecuted in a clampdown. Campaigners argued this would put the women in […]
Press The Guardian: Decriminalise Sex Work to Protect us From Crime, Prostitutes Say. “The English Collective of Prostitutes is calling for the removal of laws relating to consensual adult sexual behaviour, arguing that the legislation forces sex workers to operate alone, leaving them vulnerable to crime and reluctant to report violence to […]
We spoke to The English Collective of Prostitutes about their new ‘Make All Women Safe’ campaign, which takes aim at legislation that coerces women into working alone. “Nobody should ever be promoting the criminalisation of sex work without first acknowledging the danger it puts us in.” These are the words of Niki Adams, a spokeswoman […]
by Sophie Hemery Carried from the Bank of England to London’s Piccadilly Circus by drizzle, pop music and smoke grenades, 2019’s Women’s Strike march culminated in a performance by strippers demanding the full decriminalisation of sex work. Thousands of people danced with them, marking the end of an International Women’s Day (IWD) event that had sex workers at […]
‘Nothing about us without us’ ‘Sex workers have had a struggle to be listened to. For too long policy and law on prostitution has been dealt with without sex workers’ Maya Oppenheim Women’s Correspondent Two sex workers stormed a demonstration by women opposed to a bill which would decriminalise sex work in New York. Lawmakers have announced plans […]
Niki Adams English Collective of Prostitutes spokeswoman Niki Adams writes in support of a new campaign to make sex workers safer Three women are discussing their jobs. They moan about their boss and the stresses and strains of their work and laugh about the characters they encounter and the comic moments. One says that the […]
After years of being seen as victims, is feminist activism finally centring one of the most marginalised groups? Stacey Clare International Women’s Day is growing more powerful each year, as women take to the streets all over the world to decry oppression and demand safety and respect. However, the feminist movement has a chequered history when […]
By Adam Bloodworth Freelance News Editor 8th March 2019 Campaign groups for women across the United Kingdom have united outside what they nicknamed ‘The Royal Courts of Injustice’ to campaign for women’s rights this International Women’s Day. Women assembled from a multitude of support groups and campaign bodies as spokeswomen gave short speeches on pressure-point topics, […]
